discouragement

[browningbuck]

in my first season hunting i was excited bc i had been long waiting for my chance to go out with my dad and shoot my own buck but even with practice at field judgment on distance i miscalculated in the woods i think and i shot an 8 point and it was a solid hit in the vitals im sure but when i went to track it about an hour and a half later with my dad we found no blood at first but using hair we found and twigs that were snapped found massive blood about 50 yards to the left of where i shot it behind some brush. it crossed a river and then laid down i know bc i found a spot that was obviously layed on and a pool of blood about a foot by foot but again a blood trail went farther and it was a steady trail of blood a good amount for about another 300 yards but then it stopped and blood started to diminish and get smaller and eventually stopped and no dear i was wondering where i could have hit it and if it most likely died bc it rain towards a swamp and there was deffinately enough blood for it to have bled to death.

[browningbuck]

and the blood was abit on the dark side in some spots there was foam or bubbles?? but i dont think it was the lung i dont think it'd run that far

[joel the signman]

while it stinks that you didnt recover the deer,dont be discouraged.It sounds to me that you didnt wait long enough befor looking for the deer.we all get excited when we shoot a deer but you have to wait.If you know your shot was good dont go trailing the deer all your gonna do is push it.the fact that you found a bed and it was bloody meens you were pushing the deer.Your shot probably hit him in the gut.if it was a heart or lung shot ,the deer would have gone no futher than 200 yrds.you made a mistake that sooner or later everyone makes,be glad you got it out of the way and learn from it.By the way why didnt you follow the deer into the swamp?

[browningbuck]

o beleive me i followed the deet into the swamp i trailed it for 2 days. But u were right when i first shot and heard a solid thump the deer kicked its back legs up and ran i caught my breathe and looked for my arrow about 20 yards from where i shot and i thought i might have spooked it when it layed down so i went back to my stand for around 2 hours then checked the trails for the next 2 days straight even took a day off of school to go check the trail.

[joel the signman]

hey it happens to everyone at least once

[buckfever]

yeah dont feel discouraged about that. we have all done that at some time or another. by the way you say the deer jumped after the shot it does sound like you gut shot it. i have been with my uncle when he shot a deer in 1 lung (prob) and we never recovered it. an example of us trying to recover the deer to soon. it went down basically right where he shot it which was 35 yds behind my stand. i heard it wheezing trying to breath. and then it quited down and did not make anymore noise or even move. i thought it was a goner. so i started down my tree and the deer never moved but as soon as my boots hit the leaves on the ground it jumped up and ran off. i still thought it would never make it far but we never found it. it looked like lung blood also. deer are tough animals and if they are pushed it can be very difficult to find them. think about the perfect shots right in the heart and they take off running for 100 yds without even a heart. they are survivors for sure.

[critter gitter]

you would be suprised at how far a deer will run when shot. My uncle shot a ten point last season and it ran about 300yrd. and then my Dad shot the buck, both shots were in the lungs. Sometimes they die on the spot and sometimes they keep going a long way.

[browningbuck]

ya u guys are right thanks im 15 and i can pull an 80 pound bow back but my arm length is 24 i can shoot 25 but im more comfortable at 24 i was wondering what bow i should get that u guys have personally heard good things from within the price range of <600$ thanks

[critter gitter]

I wish I had $600 to spend on a bow

[browningbuck]

i've been saving for a while bc i love the sport and so does my dad